December 2010

12/31/2010

Happy New Year to you and yours! I'm so looking forward to all that the new year has in store for us here on Gehring Road. There promises to be some travel, plenty of joy and I'm determined that there should be more craftiness. My resolution (I rarely make them) is to find more balance and make more time for creative endeavors in life. I've decided to start this year off with a crafty-list of things to do, that will a reminder of things I'd like to accomplish and a way to keep track of what is being crossed off this list. So here goes (from left to right)...

* (Added 6/11) I'm so inspired by this quilt... it's use of neutrals, it's carefree expression allowing the fabrics to be showcased.

* Hop Skip and a Jump Quilt like this one... but I'm thinking Liberty Prints and blue. They are on their way. Here!

* I've seen so many fantastic Half-Square Triangle Quilts from really talented crafters on Flickr. See here and here. I'm thinking this would be lovely in some Hope Valley (which I really need to snatch up more of before it disappears) and some Kona Coal or Charcoal. Hope Valley here!

* Single Girl Quilt... a surprise, but loving the support group so I'm in!

* I love these plus blocks from Amy and the absolutely stunning quilt she made with them. They are high on my to-do list in 2011.

* Must have courage and paint the back wall of the loft that insanely beautiful Clinton Brown. It looks like suede... in a photo. Oh Benjamin Moore, how you scare me.

* Must start finish a bird mobile with lace accents and amazing buttons for the loft.

* Don't laugh... I'd like to learn to crochet. Mostly because I want desperately to make a Granny afgan with insanely lovely colors like this one. Luckily, I'm blessed with a talented 89 year old aunt who might take that daunting challenge of teaching these fingers to crochet properly on... ha!

* I need to figure out a solution to the table dilemma. I love Dottie's sewing area... really her whole home. I'm coveting this ever since Brooke mentioned it. Don't tell Rob, we have spare tables and chairs all over this home of ours, and we try to pawn them off on anyone who enters. He also hates Ikea. Maybe just the re-assembly required when I purchase Ikea while he is away and assemble it incorrectly. Hmm...

* I love these appliqued houses and that hand-sewn mermaid. I have to do more hand sewing and applique in the next year.

* That pinwheel pillow... yum. Really pillows in general are on my list for 2011. I have to make some pillow cases and some accent pillows as well... hopefully for the new chair.

* An orange quilt... you know it's going to include some grey. But I'd love to take my amassed orange prints and sew up something as a lap quilt for me.

* On my crafty list of things to do is also the dreaded cathedral window. I obsess over these on a shockingly frequent basis. They're perfect. And the pink and grey... lovely. I think some practice with these is really in order.

* I need to find some more vintage tins. I saw this one on Etsy, hesitated for a split second and you know my luck... Anyway, I need to take some of these home when Brimfield comes around again.

* I love this pillow embroidered with titles made by Amy. Again, the hand sewing... I need to take that on this year.

* I'm looking forward to disassembling my Strips and Bricks quilt and finally quilting that beauty that currently sits on my ladder looking lovely... but would look even lovelier as a quilt and as it was designed to be. Finishing projects I begin... a resolution for sure.

* I'd love to make a quilt just with Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile... something scrappy I think like this, but something that would make a squishy-soft quilt. We're going to be overrun with quilts here I think.

* I'm loving this quilt, the bold but muted colors... and that hand stitching is amazing.

*** *** ***

So there is the start to my crafty list of things to do... I'm looking forward to adding to it as much as I'm looking forward to updating its progress. A lovely little list that changes and reflects the current state of craftiness here in the loft.

Before I put this year and post to rest, I have a great deal to say thank you for. The continued encouragement and inspiration I have found through the blogging and Flickr communities I've been lucky enough to be so warmly welcomed and accepted into has truly touched and nourished my soul. I am amazed by the creativity I see on the blogs and in the crafty forums that are so part of my day and really my continued growth as a maker of things. And to those that pop in on this space that I so love, I thank you for your supportive words and for simply checking in. Thank you, thank you. From our little family to yours, we wish you much joy, much peace, and many happy days in this new year. We'll see you on Monday!

12/30/2010

I spent the most wonderful day on Monday rethinking and rearranging my Loft... the creative space that I find myself day-dreaming about in the midst of my teacher-day. The loft has gone through many phases... from reading nook to actual studio space, right now it feels just about right. We still need some paint, a chair (which I grabbed from the side of the road and needs some reupholstered love) and the return of the window trim and window treatments, but the space feels open, airy and full of light... perfect for inspiration and creation. Please come on in and have a look, excuse our works in progress!

... my linen cabinet (from Ikea) has moved all the way across the loft... I love that you can see it as you walk up the stairs... all that fabric... it makes me giddy - that's possibly the sign of a problem!

... I've reclaimed my desk, that poor little desk was no match for the Bernina and shook wildly while sewing... I won't miss that... the Liberty prints above the desk is an inspiration nod to Purl SoHo and if my collection grows to their lengths remind me that I have a problem...

... these hooks are from Anthropologie and I love them...

... I love these crates we picked up at our local Orchard, they were $2 a piece and we use them for everything... right now they're holding the small collection of books I'm hanging on to in the loft... the rest of my books have made their way down to the guest bedroom and desperately need a bookshelf, which we're looking into...

... right now, my old cutting table is the main sewing space... this is also temporary. The table will eventually go in the middle of the back space and just be for cutting. We have Rob's mom's sewing table we're looking into refurbishing for sewing...

... this Melon crate is perfect for all my sewing needs, and I love having everything close by...

... my bookshelves have become supply organization and the ladder I picked up at Brimfield for a steal is perfect for housing works in progress... Oy, those projects need to be finished!

... ignore the glare (that sun is everywhere up here!) I decided to use some frames I bought at Ikea to show off some of that loved fabric...

I so love this space. It feels amazingly open and spacious right now after we moved a love seat into our bedroom. The change is just what I needed. Right now, I'm working on a bird mobile made from the Spool Sewing pattern, another sweet edition for this space. The walls will be painted soon and I'm thinking about Benjamin Moore's Clinton Brown (seen here) for the back accent wall. Until then... I'm loving the continued phases of this loved space and embracing the wonderful changes as they go. Happy Thursday!

12/29/2010

Christmas seems like a bit of blur... despite my intention to make December as enjoyable and stress-free as possible, I found myself in the final leg of the holiday spirit with a quilt to baste, quilt and bind, a reversible bag (Amy Butler's Reversible Sunday Sling) to make and a loft that looked like it had recently been ransacked by someone looking for who knows what. We're easing back into life, Rob is back at work, I've begun to un-ransack and retool the loft and there's been a great deal of iPad love (my gift from Rob) in this house. Life is very good indeed. So here's a bit of what our hall decking-festivities looked like this year...

... And that is the view I've had for the past few days... reading The Help on my iPad, buying fabric on my iPad, adding to Etsy favorites on my iPad, it is very simply a loved and treasured addition to our life here from my loved and treasured partner in crime. Do you have one?

So our holidays were really and truly lovely... Rob treated us to (an iPad, did I mention?!) an absolutely delicious Christmas dinner of prime rib, crispy potatoes and black forest cake... so wonderful. We traveled little, laughed a great deal and one of us enjoyed the time off of work (to play with the iPad) the best. We experienced a lovely snowfall, a little Jack Russell bristling in the form of a street brawl with a beagle named Ivan, a new-new gadget in the form of a Smart Phone for Rob, and the start of new projects in the loft. I love these days. We're looking forward to a very quiet and equally lovely New Year's Eve... we're thinking Pad Thai, some spring rolls a table for two right here where we love to be most. Wishing you much joy and relaxation in the coming days. Happy continued holiday to you and yours.

12/19/2010

How I wish I was at the wrapping gifts stage of gift-giving, instead, I'm waiting for some fabric to arrive to finish the backing of a quilt and have a pattern for a bag calling my name from the loft. I love the idea of handmade gifts, but the execution of my gifts needs a bit of a rethink over the summer... a bit of joy is taken out of the season when the last-minute panic ensues, but I'm trying (and succeeding, I think, ask Rob) to keep it to a minimum and enjoy the gift making this year.

Of course not being in the gift wrapping stage (yet...) all I can think about is how wonderful it would be to go crazy with some Japanese masking tape. I'm seeing it everywhere lately and loving it.

12/16/2010

Amidst the crafting, baking and decorating that has been going on here, I finally was able to finish the blocks for the next quarter of the bee I'm in. To say these are late is a gross understatement... cringe! We were all a little late, I was a lot late, and I'm relieved to be getting these out to my partners... sheepishly... and finally. I really want to make a block of my own (my colors are grey, orange and white) and I have some beautiful fabric chosen but that is so on the back burner now... anyone else have two quilt tops to finish? Ah well, I'm really trying to make these holiday preparations as enjoyable and relaxed as possible and so far so good. This little weight off my shoulders helps... funny how that happens.

12/15/2010

Two weeks, really? I don't know where that time went... actually I do... it was a blur of decorating, working, fabric, felt-ball stringing, sewing, Glee watching, student-wrangling and I can't believe there are just a few more days left until Christmas. Really, I'm just so looking forward to a few days off and some relaxation... (and Rob's Christmas roast beast) I just wanted to pop in and say hello, I'm still here. I'm sure you're knee deep in something also... probably many things, as it goes, doesn't it? I leave you with this sweet edition of The Secret Garden, spotted at Anthropologie on Saturday during a bout of non-Christmas shopping... eek. These new Penguin Classics editions are one of the gift ideas I'm loving this season...

Happy preparing... I hope you are enjoying every moment of these oh so busy yet oh so wonderful days.

12/01/2010

From where I blog... there is a 9' tree waiting to be decorated (tonight!), next to me are 100 felt balls that need to be strung to decorate said tree, the fire is keeping us snug and warm, and we're listening to music from a Jazz station broadcasting from the Alps... I love this evening. Our Norway Spruce (we always go with Frasier Fur but this year we went with something different) was picked up over the weekend and we're not in any rush to decorate it, it's really beautiful as is and has some amazing pine cones all over it. Possibly another reason we've yet to decorate it, they are prickly! The felt balls I ordered from here arrived and are beautiful, though I suspect I might need a few more... they're just too pretty to have too few. Welcome, December!